Telecommunication networks have been established for providing a variety of services to network subscribers. Some widely used and well-known service provided by the telecommunication networks is mobile phone services, such as with cellular telephones. Surface contact cards having special circuits are widely used in electronic devices to enhance the functions of the electronic devices. For example, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card is placed in a portable phone to dedicate the phone's functions to the SIM card owner. By changing SIM cards, a single phone can be used by many SIM card owners as a personal phone. Other telecommunication networks provide services that involve banking operations and transaction functions. One way for providing secure transmissions is to use a subscriber identification module (“SIM”) that can be plugged into or detached from the cellular phone. Data stored in the SIM controls access by the phone to the network service. Recent versions of the SIM include an interpreter of programs written in a high-level computer language, such as JAVA. Such a SIM is disclosed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in its GSM Technical Specification GSM 11.11 of July 1996, Version 5.3.0, which is hereby incorporated by reference. As it is known, the SIM contains the mobile subscriber identification (IMSI), the individual subscriber key (Ki), an authentication algorithm, a personal identification number (PIN) and other permanent and temporary data.
As aforementioned, the SIM cards are most commonly used in communication devices to enable a user to access an individual account or a particular wireless telephone network in a specific country. Each SIM card contains the configuration information for a designated network, and also contains information identifying the user, such as the user's mobile telephone number. The identity or memory card is inserted into the body of the mobile telephone via a user-accessible interface, typically formed in or on a surface of the mobile phone housing, such as the surface that is covered by and contacts a detachable battery pack of the phone. When inserted into the telephone, the card is electrically connected to the internal circuitry of the mobile phone, thus enabling the mobile phone to access information from the identification/memory card. A conventional mechanism for holding a SIM card includes a base made of insulating material and a cover pivotally attached to the base. The base is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) of a mobile phone and comprises a plurality of pin contacts. The cover is rotated upwardly to an open position, and the SIM card is inserted into receiving grooves that are provided on opposite sides of the cover. Then, the cover is rotated downwardly to the closed position so that the contact pads of the SIM card are brought into electrical contact with the pin contacts on the base.
Portable integrated electronic cards are typically provided with standardized dimensions with the chip positioned in a predetermined location relative to the edges of the card, depending on the type of electronic device. SIM cards are generally provided in one of two sizes, i.e., a full-sized or ISO size card, and a micro or plug-in sized card. The full sized card is approximately the size of a standard credit card, while the plug-in size is approximately 25 mm long and 15 mm wide, and less than 1 mm thick. To ensure correct orientation of a plug-in sized SIM card upon insertion in the mobile phone, one corner of the otherwise rectangular card is cut at an angle, so that the length of one edge of the card is reduced to about 21 mm while the width of the adjacent edge is reduced to about 12 mm. The card can only be inserted in the phone with an angled corner in the correct direction.
As known in the art, a contactless transaction card includes an integrated circuit and an antenna embedded inside the card. The antenna is typically looped or wound in a pattern configuration. The reading of information to or from a contactless transaction card is achieved by RF signals transmitted by the antenna. At present, contactless transaction card is provided in the form of credit card-sized and is carried in a person's pocket. What is need is to provide a contactless transaction card in a size that is easily and conveniently stored in a mobile phone.